Door lock



Dec. 27, 1938. P, F. ROSSMANN DOOR LOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 5, 1936 INVENTOR.

Page)" 77 7705577247172.

Dec. 27, 1938.

P. F. ROSSMANN 2,141,225

DOOR LOCK Filed Dec. 5,1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 7%Zar7? 3053277 117 BY MVW ATTORNEYfi .Dec. 27, 1938. P. F. ROSSMANN 2,141,225

noon LOCK File d Dec. 5, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 6262" F fiassmdy y,

BY (2m? VW ATTORNEYfi I NVENTOR.

-Patented Dec. 27, 193 8 UNITED STATES DOOR LOCK Peter F. Rossmann, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich.,a corporation of Michigan I Application December 5, 1936, Serial No. 114,383

14 Claims.

This invention relates to door securing means and more particularly to mechanism for securing motor vehicle doors.

In conventional door-securing mechanism for motor vehicles of the sedan body type there is a latch mechanism for each door controlled by a.

handle on the outside and by another handle on the inside. Usually there is mechanism for looking the doors from the interior of the bodyconeachdoor, ora mechanism on each side of the body operable to lock both doors on the same side therewith. There is also key operable mechaside, usually the right hand-door.

It is an object of this invention to" provide for the locking of a door latch from either the interior or the exterior of a motor vehicle body.

Another object of the invention is to provide locking mechanism for two doors on the same side of a motor vehicle body that can be controlled either from the inside or the outside of the body.

Another object of the invention is to provide mechanism for locking the rear door and the latch of the front door of a motor vehicle body by the inside handle of the front door.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide va door locking mechanism that can be manually actuated from the inside of the motor vehicle body and key-tripped from the exterior of the motor vehicle body to operate automatically.

Still another object of the invention is to provide mechanism operable from the interior or the exterior of a motor vehicle body for looking a front door latch bolt and a rear door locking bolt.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a fragment of one side of a vmotor vehicle. body having my invention incorporated therewith;

Fig. 2 Ba fragmentary vertical sectionalview of the same looking at the right hand side of the vehicle body from'the interior;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken'substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 with the rear door locking mechanism in key-locked position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to 'Fig. 4, showing the rear door locking mechanism in released position;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional'view taken on line 6-6 0f Fig. 3;

sisting of individually operable mechanism for nism for locking one of the doors from the out- Fig. 7 is another fragmentary sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 3;'

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the major portions of the securing mechanisms for the doors. I

The door securing means forming the subject matter of this invention is shown associated with a motor vehicle sedan body of conventional type, the front side wall of which is indicated at "land .the central pillar of which is indicated at H. In 10 advance of and behind'the central pillar II are openings for receiving the front door 12 and the rear door IS, the front door being hinged at its forward end, as indicated at I4, to the vehicle body and the rear door being hinged at its rear 15 end to the body in the same manner as indicated at M. These doors are preferably formed of sheet metal and include an outer panel l5, an inner panel I6 and marginal walls I! extending between the panels. These doors are of conventional 20 design; I

On the forward wall of the center pillar is fixed a front door striker plate 20 and on the rear wall of this same pillar is fixed a rear door striker plate, 2|, the front door being provided with 21. 25

sliding latch bolt 22 arranged to cooperate with plate 20 and the rear door being provided with a sliding bolt 23 arranged to cooperate with plate 2 I. These sliding bolts provide latches for securing the doors in closed position by means of their 30 projection with the detents in plates 20 and 2| and the bolts can be released by mechanism operated by handles 24 arranged on theexterior of the doors. The front handle is fixed to hollow shaft 25 extending through the outer door panel' l5 and 35 fixed on such shaft is a cam lever 26 arranged to engage .a leg 21 depending from the sliding bolt 22. A coil spring 28.is fixed at one end to a support 29 carried by the door and its other end engages the sliding bolt-to normallymove it into 4 latching engagement with its striker plate on the central pillar. When the handle 24 ,is released the door can be slammed and the spring pressed sliding latch bolt will ride over its striker plate until it seats in the inner recess therein, as shown 5 in Fig. 2, whereupon the door cannot be opened unless the sliding bolt is manually released either by turning the outside handle 24 or the inside handle 30. Y

Any suitable form of conventional mechanism (not shown) can be associated with the rear door to be actuated by the shaft 25 and an interior handle (not shown) for withdrawing the rear bolt 23 from latching engagement with its striker plate.

I bolt 23.

' locked position.

Slidably mounted in the center pillar H is a locking bolt 3| on which is fixed a pin 32 engaged by one end of the spring 33. The other end of this spring is fixed to a pin anchor 34 mounted in the pillar. This spring normally functions to move the locking bolt in a direction toward the front door and such bolt is actuated to engage a striker plate 35 fixed to the rear door directly below the When the locking bolt 3| is moved against the action of the spring 33 it will engage the detent in the striker plate 35 and lock the rear door with the center pillar. When the looking bolt 3| is released from its striker plate then it lies in a relation between the front and rear doors such that it will not interfere with the normal door opening and closing movements.

The locking bolt 3| can be shot into locking relation with its striker plate by means of actuator mechanism consisting of a pair of slidably mounted elements 36 and 31 and a spring 38. The spring is suitably mounted in afixed relation upon the door and in a vertical plane slightly above the element 31 and engages such element to normally urge it rearwardly. The spring 38 is stronger than the spring 33 so that when the actuator mechanism is released it will move the elements 31 and 36 in a direction to automatically shoot the locking bolt 3| into engagement with the striker plate 35. The element 35 when moved to engage bolt g3l with the striker plate 35 extends past the inner end of the striker plate 20, see Fig. 4, and thus also serves to lock the front door with the pillar.

Associated with the actuator mechanism for the locking bolt 3| is trigger means by which the mechanism can be released to shoot the bolt into locking position with the rear door, or to set the same in ineffective relation. This trigger means consists of a dog 39 pivotally mounted on a shaft 40 fixed to the door and a spring 4| fixed at 42 to the door. The spring 4| is associated with one end of the dog 39 and the dog is related with the actuator mechanism so that'the spring engaged end of the dog normally lies behind the actuator member 31 to hold the actuator mechanism in ineffective bolt shooting position. When the trigger is tripped so that it is moved to clear the end of the actuator element '31 then, of course, the spring 38 is free to force the elements 31 and 36 rearwardly thereby shooting the locking bolt 3| into locking relation with the striker plate 35 on the rear door.

The trigger can be released or set from the in- .terior of the vehicle, body or from the exterior thereof. Extending axially through the hollow handle shaft 25 is a shaft43 and this shaft projects through the handle shank and is adapted to be engaged and oscillated by a key, as indicated at 44. On the inner end of this shaft is formed an eccentrically mounted pin 45 which projects into a slot 46 formed in a plunger 41. This plunger is arranged to slide in a radial slot in the handle shaft 25 in a relation such that it can be projected from the handle shaft or encased therein upon oscillation of the shaft 43. This plunger 41 is associated with the dog 39 in a relation to rock the same so that the dog will' clear the bottom of the bolt actuator member 31 and thereby release the same to allow the spring 38 to function in shooting the locking bolt 3| into Thus when the plunger 41 is moved outwardly of the shaft 25 by operation of the key 44 turning the shaft 43 and the eccentric on the end thereof, the trigger is tripped to allow the door. the recess will prevent turning of the shaft. 25 by means of the exterior handle .24 so that theits striker plate 20 to latch the door in closed position. Turning of the key to move the plunger 41 outwardly of shaft 25 releases the trigger 39 from the actuating mechanism for locking bolt 3| causing a portion of the plunger to enter a recess 48 formed in a plate 49 fixed to a flange 15 on This engagement of the plunger with cam element 25 cannot be turned to release the latch bolt 22 from its striker plate. Thus the front and rear doors will be locked when the key 44 is turned in a direction to move the plunger 41 radially from the shaft 25. To unlock the doors, when secured from the exterior of the body,'

the key 44 is inserted in the handle 24 and is turned to rotate the shaft 43 in a direction moving the plunger 41 back into the shaft 25 so that it clears the recess 48 in the plate 49 and allows turning of the handle 24 to unlatch the bolt 22 from its striker plate 20 through turning of the cam 26. The front endof the latch bolt 22 engages a pin on the actuator mechanism element 36 when the handle is turned to release the bolt 22 from its striker and this engagement of the pin 5| moves the element 35 therewith in its releasing, that is forward movement. At the same time the actuator element 36 moves the actuator element 31 forwardly against the action of the spring 38 to a position where spring 4| will force the trigger element 39 into engagement with the rear end of the member 31. In this manner the actuator mechanism for the locking bolt 3| is reset into ineffective position and the spring 33 has sufiicient strength to move the bolt 3| out of locking relation with its striker plate thus unlocking the rear door.

The actuator mechanism for the locking bolt 3| and lockingof the latch bolt 22 can also be controlled from the interior of the vehicle body and by manipulation of the handle 33. On such handle is fixed a shaft 52 that extends through and is mounted upon the inner panel wall of the door and is'fixed to a lever 53 in a relation to rock the same. To this lever 53 is pivotally connected a rearwardly extending remote control bar 54 having a pair of slots 55 and 56 adjacent its rear end and a depending turned-over flange portion 51. A pin 58 on the inner face of the latch bolt 22 extends through the slot 55 and a pin 59 on the inner face of the actuator member 36 extends through'theslot 56. When the handle 3|! is 'in normal position, as shown in the central position in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the pin 58 will be at the rear end of slot 55 and pin 59 will be at the forward end of slot 55. When the handle 30 is thrown upwardly from normal 'position'to locking position, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 2, the lever 53 will be rocked rearwardly and will move the remotecontrol bar 54 in a rearward direction which will move the pin 59 and the actuator element 33in a rearward direction moving the locking bolt 3| into locking relation with its striker plate 35 on the rear door. At the same time the flange 51 will be moved under an extension 60 on the actuator element 26 which is fixed to the handle shaft 25 and will prevent rotation of the element 26 and the shaft 25. The shaft 25 cannot, under such circumstance, be rotated by the handle 24 because of this locking arrangement between the flange 51 and the extension 60 so that the sliding latch 2.2 will be locked against operation from the exterior of thevehicle body and at the same time the locking bolt 3|. will be moved into position looking the rear door. Under such condition the actuator member 31 remains in set position with the trigger 39 behind the rear end thereof so that this mechanism will not require resetting when the door securing mechanism is controlled from the interior of the vehicle body.

In order to unlock the front and rear doors when the interior control has been set, the handle 30 is moved down to normal position and this will move the remote control bar 54 forwardly releasing the locking flange 5'! from the extension 66 and allowing the spring 33 to move the looking bolt 3| and the element 36 forwardly to a position where the locking bolt 3! clears the plate 35 and the element 36 abuts the rear end of the actuator element 31. The handle 24 can now be turned to, actuate the latch bolt 22 for opening or closing the front door and of course the corresponding handle on the rear door can be operated to open and close the rear door. The lever 53 is formed with a detent filwhicn is engaged by a spring 62 suitably fixed to the front door when the handle 30 is thrown to its uppermost or locked position. This spring 62 will prevent displacement of the remote bar from locked position unless a predetermined manual pressure is applied in a direction to move the handle 30 downwardly.

The handle 30 can also be utilized to open the front door from the interior of the vehicle body by swinging the handle downwardly from normal position asindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In such event the lever 53 is swung forwardly moving the remote control bar 54 therewith, and as the pin 58 lies in the rear end of the slot 55 when the handle 30 is in normal position, this downward movement of the handle and forward movement of the remote control bar 54 will cause the bar to pull the pin 58 forwardly therewith and thus release the latch bolt 22 from its striker plate so that it will clear the same and allow the door to be opened.

A housing consisting of an inside plate 10 and an outside plate 'H supports the securing mechanism within'the front door panels. Plate 10 is secured to the inner panel by screws L2 and plate 1| is secured to the rear panel by screws 13, the plates being fixed together along their adjacent edges in a suitable manner. Flanges 14 struck in from the turned in rear end of the outer plate serve as a bearing for the sliding bolt 22 and the actuator member 36 and flanges I5 struck in from the outer plate support the member 36. Flanges l6 struck in from the outer plate support the actuator member 31. A struck-in flange ll of the outer plate anchors the spring 38 and a similar flange 42 anchors the spring 4|. The shaft 40 is also fixed to the outer plate of the housing.

The handle 25 passes through an escutcheon 'l8 which is secured to the outer panel by screws 19. To prevent axial displacement of shaft 25, the inner end extends through the housing plate and a cap screw is screwed into the end thereof. v

With the securing mechanism herein described, the sliding latch bolt of the front doorcan be locked in engagement with its striker plate eitherby the operation of the inside handle or by operationof a key exteriorly of the body. The rear door can also be locked simultaneously with the front door bolt latch by operation of the inside handle or by operation of a key exteriorly of the body. Such securing mechanism can be readily reached and easily operated from the front seat when within the vehicle body or by turning a key in the front door handle when exterior of the vehicle body. 1

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, the prinoiples involved are susceptible of numerous other applications which will readily occur to persons skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar and operable to look a first door, a spring arranged to move said bolt out of door locking relation, slidable actuator mechanism on the second door for moving the bolt into locked position including a pair of aligned members and a spring urging the remotemember toward bolt locking position, said last mentioned spring exerting a greater force than the first mentioned 'spring, a trigger engaging the actuator member remote from the bolt for holding it in ineffective position, means extending to the exterior side of the second door'for tripping said trigger and allowing said actuator mechanism to shoot said bolt into locking position, and means operable from the exterior side of said door for resetting said actuator mechanism into inefiective position.

2. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar and operable to lock afirst door, a spring normally urging said bolt away from looking position, spring actuated mechanism on a second door for shooting said bolt into locking position, trigger means for holding said mechaism in ineffective relation, means for tripping said trigger to release said mechanism, and means for resetting said mechanism and trigger into ineffective position.

3. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar and operable to look a first door, a spring normally urging said bolt out of door looking relation, slidable actuator mechanism on a second door for shooting the bolt into door looking position, said mechanism including two aligned slidable members anda spring for actuating the member remote from the bolt, a pivoted trigger engaging the end of the spring engaged member adjacent the bolt, a spring normally urging the trigger into set position with the end of said spring engaged member, means for rocking said trigger to clear the end of said spring pressed actuator member, and means for returning said actuator mechanism into position where the trigger again engages the end of said spring,

adjacent the bolt, a spring normally urging the trigger into set position at the end of said spring engaged member, means for rocking said trigger from the exterior of the body to clear the end of said spring pressed actuator member, means for returning said actuator mechanism into position where the trigger again engages the end of said spring member, and means operable from the interior of the body for sliding the member of the actuator mechanism adjacent the bolt to lock and release the bolt Without disturbing the other slidable member of said actuator mechanism in its set position.

5. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar and operable to lock one of the doors, a spring normally urging said bolt out of door locking relation, slidable actuator mechanism on .the other door for shooting the bolt into door locking position, said mechanism including two aligned slidable members and an actuating spring engaging the member remote from the bolt, a spring closed latch bolt on the door carrying the actuator mechanism, means operable to release said latch bolt, and means operable from the interior of the body for sliding the member of said actuator mechanism adjacent the locking bolt to lock and release such bolt, said means operable from within the body locking said latch bolt releasing means from releasing movement when the locking bolt is moved to locking position.

6. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar and operable to lock one of the doors, a spring normally urging said bolt out of door locking position, slidable actuator mechanism on the other door for shooting the bolt into door locking position, said mechanism including two aligned slidable members and a spring for engaging and actuating the member remote from the bolt, 2, pin on a side of the member of the actuator mechanism adjacent the bolt, a trigger engaging the end of the spring engaged member of the actuator mechanism, a spring normally urging the trigger into set position with the end of the spring engaged member of the actuator mechanism, a latch bolt above the sliding member of the actuator mechanism adjacent the locking bolt having a pin on its side above the first mentioned pin, means for releasing said latch bolt, a bar having slots therein through which said pins extend, means on said bar for locking said latch bolt releasing mechanism, and handle operated means for moving said bar back and forth, said bar in one portion of the handle movement moving the sliding member of the actuator mechanism adjacent the locking bolt in position locking such bolt and at the same time looking said latch bolt releasing means, said bar in another portion of said handle movement unlocking the latch bolt operating means and moving the actuator member away from the locking bolt, and said bar in another portion of said handle movement moving said latch bolt into unlatched position.

'7. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar and operable to lock one of the doors, a spring normally urging said bolt out of locking position, slidable actuator mechanism on the other door for shooting the bolt into door locking position, said mechanism including two aligned slidable members and a spring for engaging and actuating the member remote from the bolt, a pin on a side of the member of the actuator mechanism adjacent the bolt, a. trigger engaging the end=of the spring engaged member of the actuator mechanism, a spring normally urging the trigger into set position with the end of the spring engaged member of the actuator mechanism, a latch bolt above the sliding member of the actuator mechanism having a pin on its side above the first mentioned pin, a bar having slots therein through which said pins extend, means on said bar for locking said latch bolt releasing mechaing bolt and the latch bolt operating mechanism.

8. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar for locking one of the doors and spring pressed to unlocked position normally, slidable actuator mechanism on the other door for shooting the bolt into door locking position, said actuator mechanism including two aligned slidable members and a spring for urgingthe member remote from the bolt in a direction to lock the same, a pivoted trigger engaging the end of the spring engaged member nearest the bolt to hold the same out of bolt operating relation, a spring normally urging the trigger into set position at the end of said spring pressed member, a latch bolt on the door carrying the actuator mechanism, a spring for urging said latch bolt into latching position, a rock shaft extending to the exterior of'the door having a lever fixed thereon for releasing the latch bolt, a key operated shaft in said rock shaft, and means movable radially through the rock shaft and operated by the shaft therein for tripping said trigger to release said actuator mechanism and for locking said rock shaft against rotation.

9. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted in the pillar adapted to normally lock one of the doors, slidable actuator mechanism on the other door including two aligned slidable members and a spring for urging the member remote from the bolt into locking position, a pivoted trigger engaging the member remote from the bolt to hold the same out of bolt operating relation, a spring normally urging the trigger into set position with said spring pressed member, a latch bolt on the door carrying the actuator mechanism, a spring for urging said latch bolt into latching position,

a rock shaft extending to the exterior of the door carrying the actuator mechanism having a lever fixed thereon for releasing the latch bolt, a key operated shaft in said rock shaft, means movable radially through the rock shaft and operated by the shaft therein for tripping said trigger to release said actuator mechanism and for locking said rock shaft against rotation, and means associated with said latch bolt for returning said actuator mechanism into position where the trigger will hold the same in reset position.

10. In a vehicle body having a pair of hinged doors and an intermediate pillar, a locking device for one of the doors comprising a spring released slidable locking bolt mounted in the pillar, slidable actuator mechanism on the other door for shooting the bolt into door locking position, said mechanism including two aligned slidable members and a spring for engaging and actuating the the end of the spring engaged member of the I actuator mechanism to normally hold it in ineffective shooting position, a slidable latch bolt carried by the door on which the actuator mechanism is mounted, a hollow shaft extending into the door having a handle on the exterior end thereof and a lever for engaging said slidable latch bolt to move the same out of latching position, a key operated shaft in the rock sha'ft, means operated by said key operated shaft for tripping said trigger to release said actuator mechanism and for simultaneously locking said rock shaft, means on said latch bolt for returning said actuator mechanism to set position upon operation of the hollow shaft and release of the means operated by the shaft with the hollow shaft locking said rock shaft, a bar operable from within the door carrying the actuator mechanism for sliding the member of the actuator mechanism to lock the locking bolt, and a locking member carried by said bar for locking and releasing said rock shaft in accordance with the position of the actuator mechanism.

11. A locking device for vehicle doors comprising a sliding locking bolt, spring pressed means associated to move said bolt into locking position, means for retaining said spring pressed means in ineffective position, means for releasing said retainer means, and actuator means for shifting said bolt into and out of locking position without disturbing the spring pressed means and its retaining means.

12. A locking device for vehicle doors comprising a sliding locking bolt having a pin thereon, a spring pressed means associated to move said bolt into locking position, means for retaining said spring pressed means in ineffective position for releasing said retaining means, and actuator means engageable with the pin on said bolt for shifting said bolt into and out of locking position without disturbing the spring pressed means and its retaining means.

13. A locking mechanism for a vehicle door comprising a locking bolt slidably mounted to engage and lock the door, spring pressed means exerting pressure to normally release said bolt from locking engagement with the door, a latch bolt for latching the door, spring means exerting pressure to normally move said latch bolt into latching position with the door, and an element operable to move said locking bolt into locking position with the door or to move said latch bolt out of latching position with the door.

14. Adevice for looking a door to a stationary element of a vehicle comprising spring actuated locking bolt means for locking the door, means engaging said bolt means for holding the same out of locking relation with the vehicle element, and a release means operable to move said bolt engaging means out of engagement with said bolt means, said release means engaging said door in a fixed relation when positioned to release said bolt engaging means.

PETER F. ROSSMANN. 

